Consumer Loan Servicing Clerk jobs in Petersburg, VA

About the Legal Aid Justice Center:

The Legal Aid Justice Center is a nationally recognized, non-profit organization that partners with communities and clients to fight for racial, social, and economic justice. We understand that the harms our clients endure are inextricably linked to overarching systems of injustice. Together we are dismantling those systems through a combination of community organizing, litigation, policy advocacy, public relations, and individual legal services.  

Very recently, we helped lead the fight to reform Virginia’s unemployment insurance system including advocacy that resulted in the distribution of over $1 billion in illegally withheld payments to over 160,000 Virginians. During the pandemic, we helped hundreds of families avoid eviction through a combination of legal representation and help accessing rent relief funds. Our staff are on the front lines of some of the most important anti-poverty fights happening today.  

Founded in 1967, LAJC has offices in Charlottesville, Richmond, Petersburg, and Falls Church and provides services under six key program areas: Civil Rights & Racial Justice, Economic Justice, Youth Justice, Health Justice, Immigrant Justice, and Worker Justice. For more information, visit www.justice4all.org. 

About the Housing and Consumer Justice Program:

Formerly a part of LAJC’s Economic Justice Program (EJP), the new Housing and Consumer Justice Program will continue its long tradition of deep tenant organizing, systemic litigation and policy advocacy in consumer and housing cases, as well as its eviction defense work through individual representation. We partner with directly impacted communities to achieve racial justice, social justice, and economic justice for all by dismantling systems that create and perpetuate poverty, homelessness, and vicious cycles of debt.

Our housing and consumer organizers and attorneys collaborate closely to design and implement campaigns that keep people and families safely housed without the constant fear of eviction, so they can thrive in their communities. Recent wins include supporting the establishment of a tenants’ council which won fair billing for electrical services, the passage of an ambitious affordable housing policy in the City of Charlottesville that included the abolition of single-family zoning, and obtaining almost $4 million in rent relief for tenants during the pandemic. In addition, LAJC is leading a Fourth Circuit appeal in a critical housing discrimination lawsuit seeking to secure protections under the Fair Housing Act for immigrants (Reyes v. Waples Mobile Home Park).  We actively advocate for tenants in public housing redevelopment campaigns in Richmond and Charlottesville, and we support tenants in becoming their own advocates in their communities. Finally, we represent a plaintiff in a class action under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act against one of the biggest eviction mill law firms in the Commonwealth.

About the position:

You will be an attorney in LAJC's Housing and Consumer Justice Program (HCJP) focused on housing in the Petersburg area. This position will maintain a general practice handling a variety of legal matters presented by individual clients within the greater Petersburg community, including Hopewell, Colonial Heights, and surrounding counties. This position could also incorporate cross-program legal matters as needed, such as education matters (e.g., enrollment, special education, and school discipline issues), health and public benefits work (e.g., reduction or termination of social security/Medicaid/SNAP benefits), or other urgent matters as they arise. 

Our housing and consumer team advances racial justice in housing, combats mass eviction, and engages in community advocacy to fight for tenants' right to safe, clean, equitable, and affordable housing and the ability to remain in their communities of choice. The Attorney will work closely with organizers, tenants, community-based organizations, statewide partners, and other LAJC advocates to identify and track systemic housing issues affecting our client communities in the Richmond area. 

HCJP attorneys pursue these goals through a combination of individual representation, community outreach and education, impact litigation, and state and local policy advocacy. 

Job Duties:

• Provide individual representation and advice to low-income tenants in Petersburg and the surrounding counties in administrative hearings, state court, and federal court. 
• Identify patterns and practices that are barriers to Petersburg residents’ ability to stay in or obtain housing, and combat these barriers through combination of impact litigation, policy advocacy, and/or organizing campaigns in consultation with HCJP organizers.
• Engage in community meetings such as City Council meetings, Redevelopment and Housing Authority Board meetings, tenants' association meetings, or other community gatherings designed to learn, advocate for, and support client rights. 
• Participate in strategic planning, and following LAJC’s interdisciplinary model, work collaboratively with organizers and policy and communications directors to integrate legal, organizing, policy, and communications strategies.
• Attend community meetings as needed or requested by community groups and in conjunction with Petersburg housing organizers. 
• Conduct education and outreach regarding tenants’ rights.  This may include doing Know Your Rights trainings for tenants, individual outreach to tenants facing eviction, attending community events to provide tenants’ rights materials, etc. 
• Review proposed state and local housing policies and advocate for or against such policies to meet client communities’ needs, often in conjunction with community partners.
• Provide support to administrative team relevant to housing matters as needed. 
• Contribute to organizational health through working groups, hiring committees, and other collaborative spaces building internal infrastructure of the organization.
• Racial equity: Promote racial equity across all dimensions, including within LAJC, by doing the following:
  • Helping to recruit, retain, and support both staff and leadership that reflect the racial composition of our community.
  • Cultivating respect for the work of and expanding resources for non-attorney staff that are disproportionately people of color.
  • Creating spaces for staff to discuss issues of racial, gender, and all other issues of marginalization.
  • Pushing for institutional and cultural changes by management, the board, and staff to further promote racial equity.